i asked if they would really actually have a stalemate. he thinks that they could still settle. they will take it to the last moment and we will all suffer. adam shapiro and laureate rothman. you are finally doing something big, mcafee story. [talking over each other] lori: we love these characters. spending is the problem. those are the words of house speaker john boehner. harry reid, the democrats, of course, said we cannot ignore the american people on tax hikes. ron hine on why he says there is still no reason to panic on the

cliff. our very own lou dobbs is not buying it. adam: our very own nicole petallides is on the new york stock exchange. where do we stand right now. right now the dow jones industrials are down nearly 60 points. the nasdaq composite is down three quarters of 1%. not a great day here. there are concerns about the fiscal cliff. we just have the deadline timeclock up again. we know that we have very accommodative fed's. let's take a look at some european markets. finance ministers have been

discussing things including giving them more power. these are some of the things that they are looking at closely. we had seen europe really pushing some new recent highs. that is something that pushed us along in the last couple days. lori: a showdown in washington. sparring over a dead deal. it does not look like either party is ready to budge. where are we now, rich we are still in the middle of a work in progress. that could be a little bit of an understatement. democrats say they want a commitment from her republicans.

basically, we are in the same spot. here we are at the 11th hour and the president still is not. about dealing with this issue right here. it is this issue. spending. >> the public posturing continues. there is a questioning today about whether or not we get to the point where tax rates are ready to increase on nearly every taxpaying american. the speaker would not comment. back to you. lori: so frustrating. rich edson, thank you so much for that update. lori: we will be on pins and needles for a while.

the voters are sending mixed signals. voters think the best way to deal with the countries deficit problem is mostly with cuts and government spending. majorities say major spending cuts are necessary. that solely raising taxes on the wealthy is not enough. even so, the most popular is raise taxes on the rich. 69% say it should happen for the top 2%. lori: interesting. they also favor closing the loopholes and getting rid of the deductions. it is almost as if those two are coming hand in hand.

if you do not need, if you are in good health in your 40s, you can say someone who is in the 60s that we will raise the age. we have to have the discussion on that entitlement front and center. joining us for more on the debt talks in washington. ron kind joins us from capitol hill. i am going to quote you. i want to read something that you said not too long ago. in all probability, it will likely entail having to vote for something with one hand and holding your nose with the other. what is it that you are willing to hold your nose for.

>> it will take some courageous folks around here. my suggestion to the president, called the congressional leadership. invite them to camp david. lock the gate and tell them that we are not leaving this place until we reach a bipartisan agreement until we get this house in order. you are someone who has a record of this goal responsibility. you also do not think that there is cause for a large should we go over the fiscal cliff. why should we not be alarmed. >> obviously if business and consumer start to lose confidence, it is awfully tough to pull that back again. that is the danger that we are really playing with here. every commission that has been formed has reached the same

conclusion. we know what the end game looks like. we need to find the political process and then the political ploy to get it done. the endgame really includes raising taxes on everybody. not the rich, but everybody. nobody is willing to do that right now. that math does not add up. on the spending side, the largest and fastest area of spending is healthcare costs. we have 10,000 baby boomers retiring into medicare every day. many with chronic illnesses and diseases that will be very expensive.

lori: if you have president obama's ear, would you get him to say yes. we need to raise the age of eligibility for medicare. it seems as if the administration is not willing to go down that road. you just raised the eligibility age of cost shifting. you are just moving money around. the key to this is changing how we pay for the entire healthcare system. it is an scenting the healthcare providers to get good results. not to order more tests, more procedures that do not work. we are spending over $750 billion every year in the healthcare system on stuff that does not work. that is what we should be focused on. lori: congressman, thank you

very much. i think voters would say lock them in the room and then throw away the key. we appreciate you being here. have a good day, sir. >> thank you. lori: a big bank is giving big warnings. you better watch out. elizabeth mcdonald joins us now with more. >> it is deutsche bank. if everyone is a winner due to the federal reserves health, who will be a loser? the point is, the socialization of corporate profit is on the rise. look at this. normally weak companies fail. what we have now is no companies can when because losers never leave the field. investors stay on the sidelines because they remain confused about who the real winners are. what you are seeing is

essentially deutsche bank is coming out really strong. you have to be more select it. here are the sectors are wondering and warning investors about this. stay away from materials. central banks cannot solve structural problems in the u.s. economy. lori: stocks have been benefiting from this so-called wealth effect. >> the stock market is a leading indicator. deutsche bank is saying we are seeing 1.5%, 2% growth. they are seeing growth also. we do not know how long the stock market can hang in there.

lori: with, thank you. dennis: what is the hottest application on an apple device today? lori: john mcafee no longer running from police. gold off 20 bucks on ounce. back with more after this. ♪ it's a new day.

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lori: we are coming up on 1:15 p.m. nicole petallides is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. she is watching yahoo! for us. nicole: the changes could be dramatic. we are hearing pertaining to yahoo!. look at where it is trading right now. they are expected to change some of the board members, including adding the paste -- paypal founder. this will be interesting to watch. right now, i guess, the stock is in a wait and see mode.

we have seen some accelerated selling. the vix has moved a little bit higher. the dow is now down over a half of 1%. down 70 points. back to you. adam: charles payne joins us. charles: this brings up the point of chasing a saga. the stock is up like 400% from its february 2009 lows. you have to look at the pros and cons. first of all, what i like is the natural gas face. oil was up 74% last quarter. they have almost $5.6 billion worth of proven reserves. i do think it is one of the companies that will continue to do well.

don't you have to be careful with these companies that are involved in fracking? >> the only problem with that is that if the obama administration wants anything close to a manufacturing renaissance, the only way they will get it is with cheap natural gas. natural gas is $60 in japan. fourteen dollars in china. it has been an economic miracle. if they want to cut, perhaps, millions of jobs and kill any sort of a manufacturing renaissance, go for. i think they will get their money from them. i think they will hijack the industry in respect to that. natural gas has been great for this country. this particular stock, speaking of earth, i would say $42.90 would be a good number for them.

lori: the manager is at the center of what the feds are calling the largest ever insider-trading case. charlie gasparino joined us in the case against matthew martoma adam: war spending and buying from the federal reserve. ♪

>> 21 minutes past the hour. this is your fox news minute. and american soldier has been attacked in afghanistan. that is all coming just hours after leon panetta left the area. the pentagon confirming a new goal board explosive device. a north korean satellite reportedly tumbling out of control and space at this hour following a rocket launch last week that sent it into orbit. the fence secretary saying the launch raises all sorts of concern. a new study suggesting this christmas travel season could be

the busiest and six years. more than 93 million americans will hit the road for the holidays. just 400 shot of the record. those are your headlines. back to lori and adam. lori: it is a good thing adam is not driving this weekend. adam: actually, adam is driving this weekend. why is former as a c t-uppercase-letter rader matthew martoma still rejecting in exchange for leniency even after being charged with insider trading. charlie: he is very good at this sort of stuff.

why he still is not cooperating. the fox business network is told that martoma has a cooperation agreement. that agreement allows them to share documents and other information. this is pretty key. additional insight into the government's case against him. if martoma cooperates, it is actually very important for his defense. we should also point out that martoma's attorney will deny the cooperation agreement. they are footing the bill for martoma's legal fees which is separate from his cooperation agreement. jake, unpack this for us. they have a cooperation agreement, which i think is

pretty key here. what do you make of it. >> martoma just made the biggest trade of his life. he chose steve cohen. here is the deal that they have. steve cohen is paying the legal fees. that could be millions. he gets a copy of the government playbook. they will work and share information together. rather than flipping on steve cohen, he has decided to work with him and he is betting that the high-priced lawyers will beat the feds, as they usually do. adam: is this kind of like a conflict of interest. >> they say we have the same interests and beating the government and saying this was not insider-trading. the government also flipped this doctor who told martoma about the trials.

charlie: this is all about martoma's trading. and passing that information to steve cohen. we know that he received that information. we do not know how martoma characterized the information. we do know that steve cohen received it and traded up on it as well. >> $270 million based on that information. it was not taped. it is what they are going to say occurred during that phone call. you will hear a different spin on that phone call. if the feds had martoma in their pocket, that phone call could implicate: and possibly lead to the downfall of the firm. charlie: what makes him think

that he will be this case. >> they probably would not let him off. maybe a year or two in jail. if he does that, he will never work again in this business. he is making the biggest trade of his life. he is back on the street if he wins. he is in the big house if he loses. how would you like to be the giants getting the playbook, you know from the saints last weekend. you know what they are doing and that is a tremendous advantage. i would put my money on steve cohen. they've got the key witness who could swing either way. martoma is betting his 20 years in jail that this deal works out for him. it is a big risk.

charlie: they usually don't bring these cases unless they got you by the you know what. they all seem so super confident until they were being sentenced. >> these are very tough cases. when mad doctor gets on the stand, i told him what was going on and in the trade takes place just a day or two later, it will look pretty obvious to the jury what happened. plus, juries are sick of these insider trader guys. charlie: you and i have been talking for years. i have been reporting on some of your cases. you have seen these corporate scandals in the past. you have seen these guys rise and fall. steve cohen is in the sort of

size of the government. what are the chances he gets indicted? >> you tell me whether he can make 25-30% a year. is he smarter than anybody else? charlie: talking to some of the government officials that i know, they believe it is possible to make that much money and never lose over a long time. i am not saying it. let's be clear here. i know the government believes that. this guy is the biggest fish on wall street. there have been so many rumors, charlie in so many as they see traders and former traders involved in this whole thing. i think where there is smoke there is fire. i think there is something here, but steve cohen, to his credit has cut a deal with martoma. charlie: guys, back to you.

lori: it looks like they are going after quite clearly steve cohen. adam: consumers are kicking off the holiday season by doing what else, shopping. take a look at some of today's winners and losers on the s&p 500. ♪ [ malennouncer ] it's tt time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you realldon't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind

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lori: it is always about your money and stocks. every 15 minutes we head to

the floor of the new york stock exchange. that is where nicole petallides is watching best buy for us. >> i'm watching best buy because the stock is really jumping. this on the headlines founder richard schulze may be moving forward, according to "the minneapolis star tribune" and moving forward to make an offer by the end of the week. this will not be first or last time the founder trying to put together a group of private equity investors to take it private. as it comes to fruition is becomes more tangible. that is what is getting stock moving. it is below 14%. but had a nice pop. this has been under extreme pressure is. electronics are a tough business. we saw what happened to circuit city. back to you. adam: thank you very much, nicole petallides. lori: after october retail sales numbers were distorted by the impact of hurricane sandy november sales bounced back to adjusted 0.3% gain.

will we see december sales rise even more? we have a retail analyst with us. dorothy. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. lori: the impact of hurricane sandy what do you think? >> there was impact during the month of november. people were without power in the new york area more than the final week of october. between that and i think carryover for the entire holiday season it is stuff in the northeast from that perspective. lori: absolutely but the follow-up what about money spent on rebuilding effort, extra gas? >> right. there's that positive aspect to it as well. lori: how does it off set? how does it net out? >> i think in terms of christmas shopping, for example, the numbers so far look pretty good. the traffic to us looks pretty good we see in the malls even during this period when normally there is quite a lull going on after the frenzy of black

friday. lori: pretty good is a good way to characterize it, even though sales rose in november it wasn't as much as economist were looking for they were looking for another .2 of a percent gain. what do you think happened? >> we're seeing a season increasingly spread out over time. certainly black friday almost covered entire month of november. cyber monday has become cyber week. and i think what we're seeing is just this extension of the whole period. in addition there were people that shopped as early as october. i wouldn't be one of them but that's really stretching the season out. lori: me neither. a procrastinator at heart. what were the people buying in november? what were the hottest items? >> i think apparel did quite well. there is no hot item in particular. what we've been seeing is color phenomenon going on. colorfulness of the stores and after the apparel that's in there has been pretty attractive. even sweaters, item that hasn't been very popular,

have done pretty well again because of color. lori: i have to ask but the impact of gas prices because we did in november see a 4% decline in gas station receipts. that does hurt the bigger spending picture but overall it has to be good for the economy, at least freeing up more dollars for consumers to spend on items you're talking about. >> exactly. we've seen a nice pullback there. that puts more money consumers pockets and more money to spend on holiday shopping. lori: quick comment what you expect for the fourth quarter for holiday season, will it be better or worse than last year? >> use the words, pretty good or solid. we're up with two good years actually for holiday spending. if we do solid i think would be a good performance. lori: dorothy, wonderful to see you to share your insight. thanks so much. >> thanks. lori: house speaker john boehner and senate majority leader harry reid exchanging angry words at dueling news conferences on capitol hill. is it all political theater? we'll get lou dobbs's take.

adam: we'll look at 10 and 30-year treasurys. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba ding the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it'just common sense, from td ameritrade. at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along,

answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected. >> i'm lauren simonetti with your fox business brief. stocks are trading lower after comments from house speaker john boehner on the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations. boehner said spending is the issue preventing a deal. on the flipside shares of solar city jumping on the company's nasdaq baidu. -- debut. they had initial backlash that the price is too high. they lowered the price from previous range of 13 to $15. >> catch the 4:00 p.m. hour when liz claman interviews

solar city chairman elon musk and lyndon rive. mortgage rates fell last week dropping to near record lows. according to freddie mac, average rate on a 30-year mortgage, 3.32%. that's the latest from the fox business network, giving you the power to prosper.

lori: house speaker john boehner today trying to shift the fiscal cliff debate back to, spending. here is what he said earlier today. >> here we are, at the 11th hour and the president still isn't serious about dealing with this issue right here. it's this issue, spending! now you go back, i want to talk about polling, most americans would agree that spending is a much bigger problem than raising taxes. they want us to deal with this, in a responsible way. lori: just shortly after that fox news's ed henry

trying to get a comment from the president on the fiscal cliff negotiations about the issue that john boehner just raced about spending cuts or lack thereof. listen to this. >> how are you doing, sir? >> what do you say, i'd? >> great. how do you feel about a deal? optimistic? >> still work in progress. >> speaker boehner says he is waiting to hear more from you, sir? >> merry christmas. lori: what a permagrin. lou dobbs dobbs here with the take. >> good try, ed. he will not give up anything to ed henry he wouldn't first to john boehner. i think john boehner did himself a lot of good today. he stood up there. took it to the president. he laid it out. he put up a chart that shows without question, and if we have that chart, it would be a serviceable moment, to share it with our viewers, but lacking that it shows spending going like this.

revenue like this, and a gap that is going to, well, trillions of dollars over the course of the next 10 years. whether you take the boehner plan or the president's plan, we're talking about $25.5 trillion by 2022. somebody better get serious and you think boehner did a very good job putting it on the president. adam: ernst & young actually did a study, give what the president wants, you raise 70 billion a year in a budget that spends 900 to a billion, trillion dollars in deficits so it doesn't solve the problem. why don't the republicans say to the president, okay take it. then when the economy stalls because you're spending far too much, it becomes the president's problem? >> i'm not entirely certain of what you're saying, take it? what would they take? adam: give it to the president. let the economy, republicans are trying to point out that you can't spend a trillion dollars when you're only going to raise from, if you

tax the rich, 70 billion. >> can't convince the president of that. he has spent a trillion dollars more than the federal government has brought in for four consecutive years. he was shown the path by president george w. bush, who did precisely the same thing with the 2009 budget. adam: so wouldn't it be best interests for republicans we can fix this 22016, here you go, mr. president. >> is there a single person, lori in this country would believe any one of these people, dial us back in three years when we're serious? lori: i do think there is strategy, lou, what do you think about this idea. the republicans are fine. tax the wealthy, whatever. but it is going to backfire on you and you will see two years we have resurgence, tea party 2.0 or what not. republicans do they have options when you talk about tax rates on the wealthy? >> they have a great option. the existing law of the land as speaker boehner said is the expiration of the tax cuts on january 1st.

lori: but here's the other issue. democrats don't care about the national debt and debt. >> how do you know what they care about? lori: they're not engaging on the spending issue. >> he is not engaging, frankly he is not engaging on the taxing side either. adam: on the conspiritorial side of this, howard dean was on another network, screaming reality is, everyone in washington knows this, taxes have to go up on everybody. could this really be what they really want on both sides? >> well we don't have to divine much here. the fact is sequestration is a, the only bipartisan expression of spending cuts, that has been agreed to by both the president and both houses of congress. it's a done deal. secondly, those spending, those tax hikes are agreed to by both political parties. this president and both houses of congress. that is where we're headed. and the fact of matter is, it may be the best deal possible, and it may be,

again, not divining intention or motivation here, it may be the best possible given the acrimony between these two parties, this president and the house of representatives. by the way, all this president had to do was not deliver that ultimatum. raise taxes on only 2% of the taxpayers, and i'll give you what you want. it is one of the most arrogant, senseless and i think ultimately dangerous ultimatums a president has ever offered the congress. and i can't think of preceding ultimatum from a president who to a house of congress, period. adam: to be continued. >> indeed it will. lori: thank you, lou. you can catch lou of course every day at this time and 7:00 and 10:00 eastern. "lou dobbs tonight." kevin cummins joins you to talk about the market, economics and fiscal cliff. >> all about spending cuts i'm sure. lori: we have to talk

serious about them. we have to convince these people. adam: nicole petallides standing by on the floor of the new york stock exchange. you're talking about csv caremark. >> i will show you a winner here. it is on the move and hitting a 52-week high but actually an all-time high for this pharmacy/health care provider and you have the ceo making a lot of comments as well. they're giving an outlook that their guidance is certainly reassuring. they announced they will do more stock repurchases. they talk about obamacare, the health care plans from the administration, that it is an expansion opportunity for them with 10,000 baby boomers becoming eligible for medicare every day. the ceo says the change is upon us and the ceo larry merlow saying this. this is expansion opportunity and stock is jumping to all-time new high. back to you. adam: thank you very much, nicole. lori: metal prices skidding after another round of stimulus from the fed. we have phil flynn from

price futures group. phil, metals and oil rose on cheaper dollar by the federal reserve and everybody is rushing in to take profits, am i right, at least partly? >> they are. you want to know why? because they're concerned about the fiscal cliff. you should have saw when the metals gained momentum to the downside after john boehner. traders are realizing, hey, we may not get a deal here. if we don't get a deal that is deflation fairy for the economy and bearish for the precious metals. how many times we play this out last couple weeks. talk of stimulus, metals rally. market reverses. metals to go back down. if we get a deal look for metals to absolutely explode. copper is partly down because of the fiscal cliff but they're worried about data coming out of the china. very, very important. if we get strong data out of china tonight that should help industrial metals. look at rest of the markets, oil down here a little bit. those fiscal cliff, that's what you call it, is really holding back the commodities

right now. back to you. lori: phil, thanks as always. adam: you have a five and a 3-year-old they're not quite at age but they're getting there. when they say in the car "are we there yet?". lori: they already do that. adam: google maps is back for your iphone. shibani joshi shows us why you won't get lost now but apple may need a new direction. its stock is dropping and below the de500 billion market cap level once again. lori: jurisprudence item of the hour. after a month on the run software pioneer john mcafee is back in the united states. here are winners and losers as we head off to break. this is america.

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lori: he has been deported. guatemala sending software founder john mcafee to the u.s. he fled there illegally dodging authorities in belize who named him, quote, a person of interest in a murder. fox news's phil keating in miami with the latest. >> hi. john mcafee traded guatemalan jail with swanky south beach living in art deco hotel eating much better food. his situation could change, all depend on the situation with the police. mcafee held a news conference on ocean drive surrounded by about 20 tv cameras. after flying coach the millionaire took a cab to miami. as he said eating much better food than he was getting in jail but the cybersecurity inventor slept alone. his 20-year-old girlfriend could not make the flight with him from guatemala city. >> and my, my position there put the guatemalan

government in a very serious situation which is why i'm here now and which is why sam is i will still there. >> mcafee remains a person of interest in the shooting death of his neighbor in belize, fellow ex-pat, gregory faull. if they declare mcafee criminally liable in that case could be extradited back to belize. until that moment the fbi says it is not involved. remember the supposed heart attack he had loose week in guatemala? he concedes he faked the entire thing to be delayed being taken back to belize and it worked. he also says all of his millions are still stuck in belize. he is in south beach, out of cash and waiting for the arrival of his girlfriend. back to you. lori: biting lip. >> yeah. adam: there is lot to say. unfortunately, thank you very much, phil keating. we have breaking news. this involves fiscal cliff. house speaker john boehner plans to fly home to ohio tomorrow. his spokesperson says, this

is a quote. the president has both cell phone numbers and ohio has both cell phone service in the airports. if the president wants to talk to me it won't be a problem. lori: a little snarky. adam: two jilted lovers in a fight. reunited and it feels so good? that was peaches and herb. shibani joshi is talking about how apple is trying to save face with its map debacle and google will do it for them. >> jilted lovers and talking about reuniting, that is what google and apple are doing here. we talked about the sort of backlash apple received after kicking out google maps. google maps unveiling a new app that brings the two together. top download today. 11,500 reviews and four stars. users are in love. i missed you, please don't ever leave again. adam: why is that? >> they scale them.

different user interface. there is different coding necessary. it will come. just not out available. adam: why not get an android device, call it a day with google? >> that's what people thought the company may do and leave it only for android devices to get it away from the iphone. considering google maps are accessed more than a billion monthly active users and 50% are on a mobile phone they want to focus where the eyeballs are, and being on iphone is the big audience. didn't want to be without it. a huge hot story and shows you apple doesn't have the upper hand in all departments right? adam: share price down 2% already today. shibani joshi thank you very much. lori: congressional leaders battling over the fiscal cliff but who will end up losing? s&p dow jones indices david blitzer says it is the economy. he joins tracy and ash next.

tracy: i'm tracy byrnes. ashley: i'm ashley webster. new verbal sparring on the fiscal cliff and no new progress on a deal. house speaker boehner says he is heading to ohio tomorrow. that is not a good sign. with 18 days and counting until the new year is it too late to avoid the cliff? tracy: republican congressman tom cole is our guest. he says congress should pass the president's tax hikes but it won't solve the whole problem. ashley: businesses bracing for the fiscal cliff and even more government regulation. chairman of oil and natural gas produce other energy xx 1, john shiller is here and how his company is bracing for the worse. tracy: time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole, we were saying, sitting here yesterday at this time, the market was up about 60 points. now, we are down. so much for the bernanke rally, huh? >> that's right. it was a little celebrate, good times around this time

after we already heard from the fomc and quantitative easing and accommodative fed. we heard from ben bernanke and the truth is everybody realizes that we do have a tough economy and we'll see what happens. but i was just looking at major market averages. we're losing 61 points right now. however we're still up for the week. and then i began to look back to see how many weeks in a row. we're already up. this would be the fourth week in a row of gains. so it is sort of slow and steady and moving higher, slowly but surely like take two steps forward and one step back. that seems to it be the trend. it is still continuing even with the move back here of 61 points we're still up for the week. traders talk about the fact that december is traditionally a higher month. we're still trending to the upside. everybody thinks the fiscal cliff will somehow be solved. look at best buy. this has been a name that's moving. this is winner. this is all about the fact that richard schulze, the founder may be moving forward and may make a takeover buyout offer with a

private equity group by the end of the week according to at least one source. we'll see. giving a big boost, 15% gain. back to you. tracy: good for them. nicole, we'll see you in 15 minutes. ashley: stocks took a turn for the worse after house speaker john boehner said president obama seems willing to go over the cliff. as we know the speaker is leaving town tomorrow. rich edson life on capitol hill with the very latest. rich? >> all other signs in washington, d.c. point to stuck on these negotiations. senator dick durbin president obama has taken medicare's eligibility age off the table. house minority leader nancy pelosi says democrats will knot discuss or talk social security. house speaker john boehner is still resistant to any tax rate increase. there are questions if we start to get closer to the new year when nearly every federal income tax rate is supposed to increase, would republicans still put a bill on the floor that would give the president what he wants on tax rates, just allow

taxes to increase for families earning more than $250,000 a year? to that the speaker was noncommittal. >> the law of the land today is that everyone's income taxes are going to go up on january the 1st. i have made it clear that i think that is unacceptable. but, until we get this issue resolved that risk remains. >> in case of emergency the house should break the glass. the, house speaker ought to allow the republicans to vote on extending tax cuts for 98% of the american people. that would deal with a chunk of the so scald -- called fiscal cliff. >> short while ago house minority leader nancy pelosi says she hoped to get this done by christmas. that is looking closer and closer to impossible right now. back to you. ashley: yeah. another day but the same rhetoric. rich edson on capitol hill. thank you. tracy: that's a problem.

while congressional leaders trade jabs on the fiscal cliff our next guest says the economy is totally at risk. without a deal we could go back into recession next couple months. joining us david blitzer, s&p dow jones indices managing director. you know, what happens if we go over the cliff but they quickly come to a resolution, they make everything retroactive back to jan 1, does that stave off recession? >> it probably saves off recession. there will be a lot of anxiety and concern. it is a long series of items. not just like one tax rule, one spending cut. it is pages and pages. never do anything in a few pages in washington. so you would have to unwind it but the concern is, and this is all growing like a labor negotiation. it doesn't start until about 11:55 p.m. at the midnight deadline. if boehner says he is going to a new year's eve party in ohio i would worry. if going home for the weekend that's fine. he has a couple weeks, all right? same thing goes for the

president obviously. but, also like a labor negotiation, when the strike starts everybody goes off and spends three days screaming at each other. tracy: sure. >> probably given washington three weeks or three months. ashley: worst-case scenario we go over the cliff and no agreement is reached but how damaging could be a split the difference kind of deal that is done really kind of cobbled together, kicking it down the road a little bit? does that really help us at all? >> i think if you get some kind of a deal, some progress, you don't get the kind of massive tax increases that are in line now. ashley: yep. >> you don't get the kind of massive spending cuts, specially things like increase in payroll taxes or anything that hits a lot of people. defense cuts take a long time to have any impact. i wouldn't worry about that. you can work out of it. truth is, we probably ought to throw the entire tax code away and start over. we haven't revised it since

ronald reagan was in office. that is long time ago. things wear out, even tax codes. ashley: sure. tracy: talk about housing. i know you're involved with case-shiller as well. housing is trying so hard to eke some gains out. this fiscal cliff can totally set us backwards. >> housing probably is going to be less damaged than a lot of other things in the fiscal cliff. i'm assuming as i say that, they don't just get rid of the mortgage deductability and not touch the rest of the tax code. obviously that would be really bizarre. housing has turned around. it's beginning to gain. the september data we saw, this is the point in the air when things begin to get soft because of the fall season and everything. tracy: sure. >> prices continue to rise. on a national basis and in most of the cities it resolved which is clear plus. the other reports, housing starts were up very sharply the last report. sales are doing better. sales of new homes are doing better. across the board most reports, not every report

every month but just about all the data we're see something positive. and housing, housing is actually making a contribution to the economy. not like we would like but i think we'll take anything we can get. ashley: obviously the economy is so reliant on the consumer a big part of the economy. can they support the recovery? >> i think they can sort of keep it going but i think to get, substantial ongoing support, you really need business capital spending and that's been a weak spot of late. but that's what you need for sustained, ongoing recovery. and in fact, tax cuts have worked to improve the economy and get growth, it's been driven directly at business capital investment, not at wealthy people, but at investment. the so-called investment tax credit. tracy: right. >> that was the way jack kennedy turned the economy around when he became president. and you know, some people

don't like to hear it but that is pure keynesian economics right out of the bible that 'canes wrote, not the bible. tracy: if only. thanks for sharing your thoughts. ashley: we appreciate it. much more on the fiscal cliff ahead. energy 21 chairman john shiller says the outcome will greatly impact his industry as you can imagine. he is our special guest coming up. tracy: congressman tom cole says even if the congress passes the president's tax cuts it will not solve the problem, spending. let's see how oil is trading. the dow fallen further down 84 points. oil trading $86.27 a barrel. about a rise of 50 cents. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of.

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>> it is time to make money with charles payne. this hour we're taking a look at under armour. chars, this is a company that has come on so quickly and so strongly in sports equipment. >> it really has but here's the thing and i normally don't start these off with this sort of a caveat but don't buy it yet but i am looking at it, putting together some sort of a wish-list. it is right at a real key

support point. but to your point, ashley, from 2001 to 2005 grew 100% revenue. last four years grown at 150%. obviously growing pretty much gangbusters not to the degree it is once growing. it is starting to lose high growth veneer, that, that usually affords you a higher margin. tracy: can i give you my anecdotal? >> sure. tracy: in my one little household, microcosm, it was so hot everybody had to wear under armour. this telling you lebron nike thing, took over. underarmor is nowhere to be found. >> underarmor has slowed down. wall street is cooling on the company. the stock is down. if it down here can hold, sort of anecdotal stuff, looking at some of their sales through retailers and foot locker, whatever. the stock looks to me oversold but --. ashley: jpmorgan put a sell on it yesterday. >> nobody likes it.

tracy: one more thing in my silly little microcosm. it is hard to find. >> really? tracy: not in every store. >> they don't have the penetration. flattery is, imitation is form of flattery, what level? >> if it can hold the 48 area and start to get back above 50 on higher volume that will be a buy signal. i think one of these stocks people are compiling a list of unloved names this is one i think should be on it because i don't think their goose is cooked necessarily. and i kind of like being contrarian sometimes but i would say, i'm not saying go pick it up right now. ashley: all right, charles. hedging your bets a little bit but that's fine. charles payne. >> every now and then. tracy: analysts should come to me before you write the report. ashley: what is in your house. tracy: give you microcosm of my life. john mcafee, founder of the famous anti-virus software is back on u.s. soil today after arriving on a flight to miami. now the military tech titan was deported from guatemala after spending nearly a

month on the run dodging authorities in belize who wanted to question him in the murder of his neighbor in belize. mcafee was detained by guatemalan authorities after sneaking into the country from neighboring belize. he has been living in belize since selling the his stake in the software company that bears his name. no word whether authorities will detain or question mcafee. ashley: he hasn't been charged with anything. tracy: there is no warrant yet. at this time he is a free man. man, what a good, juicy story for us. ashley: it is. it is, he an eccentric, no doubt about it. has dual citizenship between the u.k. and u.s. neighbor he believes, his dogs were poisoned by the neighbor who ended up getting murdered. i don't know. we'll see. but still no charges. tracy: sunday night movie. ashley: it is, it is. 48 hours will have a special in couple of years. as we do every 15 minutes take a check on markets right now. nicole petallides on the

floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole, dow, at low of the day right now? >> it is under pressure. vix, fear index is so the upside. dollar is stronger. these things are pressuring the dow. we're back worrying about the fiscal cliff. i want to look a couple names hitting new highs, all-time highs, 52-week highs. start by looking at cvs caremark, farmsy health care provider this 2013 guidance is helping things along. they upped, raises the dividend with the upbeat outlook for 2013 that is giving the stock a nice boost. as i noted fresh all-time high for this particular company. we'll look at clearwire. everybody knows they have a deal already with sprint. now there is talk that sprint is offering to buy the remaining stake in the company for $2.1 billion. that would give them the opportunity for faster wireless speeds at lower costs. now some folks are saying you know what? clearwire will just want more.

sprint by the way is up 142% this year. clearwire, new high. back to you. ashley: dow off 90 points. nicole, thank you very much. we'll be back on the floor with you in 15 minutes. tracy: coming up, can america become energy independent? fingers crossed, people. energy xx1 chairman john shiller weighs in on that, the fiscal cliff and oil prices. that is all next. ashley: first look how the u.s. dollar is moving today. it is well, look at this. it is higher against all these currencies that are down against the u.s. dollar. although the euro essentially flat on the day. we'll be right back.

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>> 20 minutes past the hour right now. hi, everyone, i'm jamie colby. this is your fox news minute. acting director of central intelligence mike morrell is testifying behind closed doors today answering questions about the attack on our consulate in benghazi, libya. we heard secretary of state hillary clinton will testify before congress in a week suggesting the state department's internal report could be released in a matter of days. an american soldier has been killed in an attack on a airbase in kandahar,

afghanistan. that assault coming hours after defense secretary leon panetta left the area. the pentagon confirming insurgents detonate ad vehicle-borne explosive device. they are unsure whether it is connected to the secretary's visit. syria denies claims it is using scud missiles against forces. they fired the missiles from damascus into northern syria as staunch syrian ally russia suggests that president assad is losing control of his country. those are the your latest headlines. i will send it back to tracy. tracy: jamie colby, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. tracy: gold sinking today as gains in the week to fed's new stimulus or profit taking? is now the time to buy the precious metal? sandra smith with a look what your year-end move should be in today's trade. hey, sandy. >> tracy there is a bill

move with the fed announcement of the bond buying program. look at this today a little profit-taking as i'm hearing explained as gold prices down 1.25%. that is a drop of $22 an ounce. important to point out gold is positive on the year. sporting a 10% gain of 2012. what to do with it as we head into 2013. we're hearing different opinions from the big banks. morgan stanley for one says buy gold as these levels. it is just below $100 an ounce. they say it will average over 1850 an ounce in 2013 over the next 12 months. they're not just bullish on gold. they're bullish on silver which outperformed gold so far this year, up 22%. they say silver is going to average over $35 an ounce in the new year. its just about 2 and change. they're very bullish despite its recent gains -- 32. goldman sachs reiterated all

buy ratings heading into the new year. most of that bullish of record low interest rates devaluing the dollar purring up the commodity prices. tracy and ashley, they also like copper prices. this is one of they are big picks for 2013. calling for a for a gain there as well. by the way, i'm throwing up stocks, tracy and ashley, can by etfs, gld, gold mining stocks they talked about it last week. they are underperforming the metals themselves. those are a good play. tracy: copper a sign the economy potentially might be doing something again. that is potentially a positive sign. >> maybe. ashley: thank you, sandra. from gold to oil. oil prices heading lower after two days of gains. where will will oil go if we go over the fiscal cliff? that is certainly a question people are asking and what will it mean for the entire energy industry? joining us is the chairman and ceo one of the fastest growing oil and natural gas producers, energy xx1's john shiller. john, thank you so much for being here. i mean how are you planning for this fiscal cliff mess?

what impact would it have on your energy company? >> well, obviously as we go over the cliff and it starts affecting the economy it will start having an impact on oil prices. the impact on oil prices will be moderate and we will see whether we need to cut back on the capital program. ashley: your company, you say in your notes, you like energy xx1 to deliver twice the energy and then some of the has government regulations slowed you down in that effort? >> you know, i think coming out of the moratorium it definitely slowed us down but now that we all understand the regs and everybody has gotten used to dealing with it, and day-to-day activities it is fairly mundane and things are going about and we're able to do our business. ashley: we talk about energy independence. will that ever happen? we're getting closer and closer it that, john? is that a good thing? it would appear to be but i can't imagine saudi arabia would be very happy about

it. >> yeah. i think, you know, i think you've got to remember that people like to talk about america and forget about the rest of the world. america is going to make some great headways. the developing nations have actually declined on their oil consumption since 2007 by about 6 million barrels. but the developing nations around the world are up 10 million barrels, hence the increase in demand. i think in the u.s. we have a legitimate chance of reducing our dependence on foreign oil imports but around the world the developing nations are now consuming more oil. the developing nations consume more oil than the developed nations. i still think you will see some pretty high demand growth and a decent amount of pressure on oil prices around the world. ashley: does that mean we're held hostage? does that mean, you know, everything that opec does, every time we see unrest in the middle east, we see a spike in oil, does that mean more we're rousing here in the u.s. we won't be impacting by that as much?

>> yeah. i mean the more domestic supply we have, the less we depend on opec ps of the world, no question. the problem we have as the world though, 92 million barrels a day roughly what the production is. that is about a million barrels a day of excess capacity. so any little flare-up in the middle east will impact world oil prices. ashley: so do you think we'll be energy independent anytime soon? we're almost there. >> yeah. i think by "20/20" -- 2020 we have legitimate chance between all the natural gas we're bringing on and oil we're bringing on, on energy equivalent basis we'll be independent. we'll be importing oil and exporting gas as lng, very good, interesting stuff. john shiller, chairman of energy defend one. john, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having us. tracy: you make a great point, saudi arabia will not be very happy about our quest for independence. ashley: that is real threat

to them. tracy: big-time. is the federal reserve stimulus actually bad for investors? yeah, one major bank says yes. liz macdonald back and on the story. ashley: but first let's look at some of today's winners and losers. the dow, well, coming back a little bit off session lows down 79 points. some of the winners, best buy up 16%. is it going private? we never know. jcpenney up 4 1/2%, on the other side of the coin. we seem to talk about this one side or the other. monster beverage down almost 4%. cabot oil and gas down 3%. we'll be right back.

>> it has just gone 30 past the hour. a check of the market as we do

every 15 minutes. nicole. nicole: i'm here with ben willis, he and i were chatting, watching the trend, we are up now, the fourth week in a row of games. >> it is all normal. we will end up near the highs of the year by the december 31. so days like today i still believe right now it is your best advantage. nicole: what do you think about the fact everybody continues to talk about the fiscal cliff, will they settle this? what do you think, do you think we're hearing about extending the bush tax cut in a form? >> i do believe the market is telling us that we will exceed the publishing what needs to be accomplished. the market slides dramatically.

nicole: do you think the fed has been on the right track? >> you don't fight the fed. >> these are the kind of things on wall street you have been here a while, you get it. ashley: thank you very much, nicole, appreciate it. tracy: the federal reserve is actually hurting investors. elizabeth macdonald back with more. >> investors are confused, everybody is a winner, who is the loser? how do you make profits that everybody is a winner? saying the socialization of profits is on the rise. normally weak companies fail

leaving winners advance, but now no company can win because the losers never leave the field due to continuous liquidity injections. investors stay on the sidelines, right? tracy: you get pennies on the dollar. ashley: you get addicted to the low rates, it is going to be a difficult adjustment. >> i think that is why it is not happening now. central banks fall, that is from an executive, already estimated there are a number of zombie companies in the uk as well as japan to cross the bridge to nowhere. they have the same slow growth. can you call this lemon socialism?

the fact they're saying it on the rise is an indication wait a second, we have turned a corner. investment capital usually turns profits, but deutsche bank says high profits are now socially unacceptable and easy targets for taxation meeting a bull's-eye on them. tracy: we have a birthday boy to thank. happy birthday. all right. ashley: helicopter in. tracy: elizabeth mcdonald, thank you. some breaking news, oil closing down $0.88 per barrel. $85.89 per barrel. that is a drop of 1%. a move snapping two straight days of gains. ashley: on deck hsbc paying

uncle sam nearly $2 billion for money-laundering by fox news judge andrew napolitano says the bank owes nothing. tracy: first, a look at the 10 and 30-year treasuries heading out to break.

>> i am lori rothman. comments from house speaker john boehner on the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations continuing to weigh on the market. boehner saying spending is the issue getting in the way of a deal. right now the dow is down 74 points. looks like maps on the iphone are headed in a better direction. this is the mover in google maps from the device, apple finally approve of the google its app store. the own attempt at maps was a

massive disaster even lead to a rare apology from ceo tim cook. jobless claims fell for a fourth straight week. the market may be improving. marking the second lowest claims this year. you have a slow moving average. that is the latest from the fox business network giving you the power to prosper.

ashley: breaking news from major league baseball. the associated press reporting texas rangers gm says josh hamilton has agreed to a contract with the l.a. angels. there you go. tracy: i'm shocked we are even talking about baseball in the middle of winter. ashley: hsbc moving on with the

largest fine ever paid by a bank. $1.9 billion for the justice department to settle a money-laundering case. could hsbc really commit a crime or was this perhaps a money grab by the government? judge andrew napolitano here with a unique take on this. you say it is all about the money. >> the true answer is we will not know because the case will not be tried. hsbc crossed off $1.5 billion. does it go to any victims of this crime? there are no victims of the crime. does it pay restitution? nobody was harmed, so no restitution to be paid. here is what the government said the bank did. here's what the bank admitted to doing. engaged in money laundering outside the united states. so how does the justice department prosecute criminal activity that occurs outside the

united states? if someone engages -- ashley: was a facilitated by somebody in the united states? >> of course that s the argument. but to say these people were tutored outside the united states and how to avoid disobeying the law, that is what lawyers do. they twitter clients into how to avoid disobeying the law. here is your product, here is your goal. the lawyer will tell you how to do it lawfully. if it means to business as to not to violate, everyday. if it means to trick the government, the lawyer is participating in a conspiracy. ashley: finding a way around the system. >> again, we are arguing in a vacuum because the case is

always settle. not a single trial, the hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars from the feds and the city of new york, not a single trial, nobody cross-examined, no jury made any findings, the banks caved because they wanted it to go away. the government gets to use that money without proving anyone was harmed. the behavior occurred outside the united states. for 30 years ago, that behavior would have to be prosecuted in the place where it occurred. now it is prosecuted by federal prosecutors. the behavior in the united states can now be prosecuted by prosecutors in other countries. the reciprocal will come to bite the justice department. the justice department was looking for the cache. ashley: off of this story, libertarians and the belief in

god, the statement was i don't believe in god, is that libertarians take on religion? >> i don't think so. libertarians of course have different views on different subjects all across the board. most libertarians will go along with jefferson's argument, we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. the argument is our rights come from our humanity and our humanity is a gift from god. your correspondent is an old-fashioned pre-vatican roman catholic who likes the latin. tracy is too young to even remember. tracy: that is not true, i would give anything to have that back. >> many libertarians feel that way about tradition and about a traditional recognition of the existence of god. ashley: thank you for clearing that up. tracy: i still remember the prayers in latin.

>> not here, not here. tracy: we have to move on. it may be one of the most awaited sequels of all time. "the hobbit" is out this weekend and dennis kneale has more. are you going to see a? >> i don't know yet. but isn't that precious? "the hobbit" bows at the open at midnight tonight. it'll be the answer to the twilight saga for girls. warner bros. will then roll out "the hobbit"'s unexpected journey to reach 4045 theaters in the u.s. on friday, more than 3000 of them showing in 3d. the film franchise some of the longer titles in film history premiered a full decade ago. these are u.s. box office.

approaching $340 million. the third installment, return of the king, fared even better than a second. the second. $72 million opening weekend hitting $377 million total. in the u.s. ticket sales worldwide scoring almost $3 billion. can the hobbit continued the box office run? already set a record. a hometown opening in new zealand a record for the biggest nonholiday opening ever, and some reviews are stark so far. headlining her critique vote, "board of the rings." tracy: that is how i felt when i

read the book. it is a quarter until, stocks every 15 minutes, let's head down to nicole petallides. the nyse. nicole: the dow is down 82 points. some accelerated selling. we still have a winning week on wall street, the fourth winning week. take a look at yahoo. a couple of board member changes, this will be something for the monks coming for yahoo. the ceo brad smith stepping do down, the ceo of the weather channel, and the cofounder of paypal moving in. keep an eye on yahoo.

the customs and immigration agency that will be using and piloting a program for blackberry. that is what rim needs. it is some positive news. ashley: very good, nicole, thank you very much. tracy: it can go for days, my iphone cannot make it through the show. is it too late to keep the fiscal cliff before the new year? weighing in from capitol hill next. ashley: gm trying to pick up sales with a new design. some of the winners and losers with the dow down 78 points. research in motion up to.5% today. staples also up $0.10. we will be right back.

ashley: breaking news for you, fox is reporting republican senator leading contender to be president obama spent to serve as secretary of defense according to several democrats briefed on the process. the same sources telling fox news picture john kerry now been talked up within the administration as a more likely nominee for secretary of state over susan rice, current u.s. ambassador to the united nations. fox was reporting right is being talked up as a potential pick for national security advisor since that position would not

require senate confirmation. late breaking news on the cabinet moves. gm unveiling new 2014 chevy silverado and gmc pickups hoping the new models will drive sales for the auto giant. jeff flock live in pontiac, michigan, with more. >> i'm surrounded by the team that put this together. all these folks you see are the ones who put together the gm sierra and silverado pickup. we talked to mark reuss earlier in the day talking about the fiscal cliff being introduced at a time when the country could be an economic role. telling me he think they will make money even if the nation goes forward over the fiscal cliff. >> we can make a lot of money at fiscal cliff levels, but plans in place to do all that. we don't think we need to. >> what does your internal

planning say if you go over? >> we take a look at different car lines by segment and look at where the strike is a and look t the pent-up demand. >> this is a huge vehicle for gm, the best-selling of all gm vehicles. a quick look at what they unveil look like, a really exciting unveil. harkening back the old old days where they blew things up and crash cars through things. a big unveiling for g gm. good luck to them, they will need it. ashley: love the fireworks. jeff flock, thank you very much. tracy: talks in washington seem to be going nowhere, so is it too late to avoid going over the fiscal cliff? making waves by saying the house should pass tax cut for middle income americans and to do it now.

he joins us now. you also said we should let the tax cuts expire on the wealthiest 2%. 250,000 end up. >> that is not quite what i said, tracy. what i said was let's take the parts of the deal we agree with. let's continue to fight on that issue, the speaker has put forth a proposal keeping tax rates constant but generate additional revenue. if i can get 80% of the bush tax cut for 98% of the american people made permanent, which we could not do that in the bush era, i will do that. it would help ease a lot of concerns and would move us to where we are, talking about spending and entitlement reform. tracy: we can't possibly push the tax cuts through without spending on the other side. you are a former history professor, history has shown us

this does not work. >> i'm also a small-business owner and investor. again, sometimes make deals and pieces, no need to fight over this, take it off the table. the spending cuts began on january 2, and ultimately the debt ceiling further down the road. if we can solve some of this now, let's do it, but let's come to a much bigger settlement involving much more in the way of spending cuts and entitlement reforms because that is part of the problem we have right now. tracy: do you worry about going against leadership on this behalf? there is a lot of fighting amongst the ranks in the g.o.p. right now. some may not be thrilled to hear that. >> he has negotiated a lot of deals over the years. every time he has had one, he needed a vote, don't know what

we will end up with now, but probably will be again. if ever tried to keep me from speaking my mind. my initial advice was offered privately. you are amazing figuring out what was said privately. i will not back off of what i said because it is now public as opposed to private. tracy: you're a standup guy for that, thank you for being here. ashley: amazing how we can get word of what is taken private, isn't it? tracy: there is fighting amongst the ranks in g.o.p., that is not very comforting. ashley: liz claman will be taking us through the last hour of trading talking earnings with the ceo which mr. street estimates and cut its forecast, but investors think the worst is over. ceo gary schmitt next on

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